Army, IAF, Navy Promised Faster Defence Buys

'Currently, it takes between two and three years to formulate the request for proposal for procuring specific military equipment for the armed forces. It should not be this way.'

The process to 'significantly' shorten timelines for defence procurement is likely to be completed in three months -- by early June -- it is learnt.

According to sources in the ministry of defence (MoD), procedural reforms in the Defence Acquisition Procedure (DAP) 2020 document to streamline India's defence procurement policy -- often criticised for delays and inefficiencies -- are expected to be completed in six months, by early September.

"Currently, it takes between two and three years to formulate the request for proposal (RFP) for procuring specific military equipment for the armed forces. It should not be this way," said a source, adding: "The prolonged time taken for field evaluation trials and cost negotiations will also be reduced."

It was also indicated that the groundwork for shortening these timelines had already been laid.

In line with the MoD's decision to observe 2025 as the 'Year of Reforms', the sources said a committee had recently been established under the additional secretary and director general (acquisition) to drive procedural reforms in DAP 2020.

The reforms aim to eliminate redundancies and make the acquisition process more efficient in meeting the needs of the three armed services while addressing the pain points of the defence industry, including domestic private firms and global original equipment manufacturers.

The committee's meetings are expected to commence soon and will involve a diverse range of stakeholders, including industry representatives from both the public and private sectors, as well as startups and think tanks.

The acquisition of defence equipment currently takes over 5 to 7 years to complete, with field-evaluation trials alone taking up to three years.

The process involves multiple stages, beginning with the accordance of Acceptance of Necessity, followed by the issuance of the Request for Information and the formulation of General Staff Qualitative Requirements.

This is followed by the issuance of the Request for Proposal, vendor responses, technical evaluation, field evaluation trials, General Staff evaluation, bid opening, and the identification of the lowest bidder.

The process then moves to cost negotiations, the conclusion of the Contract Negotiation Committee, and approval from the Competent Financial Authority, culminating in the signing of the contract.

Deliveries begin only years after this process is completed.

The Indian Army, Indian Navy, and Indian Air Force have all faced procurement delays, with urgency rising amid the rapid development and deployment of military technologies in India's neighbourhood, particularly by China.

The domestic defence industry, particularly private players, has also cited the lengthy procurement process as a business challenge.

"The defence industry welcomes any step to cut down acquisition time," said Rajinder Singh Bhatia, chairman of Kalyani Group's defence business and President of the Society of Indian Defence Manufacturers.

Emphasising the need for reforms, Bhatia noted that in high-technology domains, the time taken for acquisition must be shorter than that for technology development.

"The process is currently linear, but adopting parallel processing can help reduce timelines," Bhatia explained.

Explaining the urgency of reforms from the user's perspective, General Manoj Mukund Naravane (retd), former chief of the army staff, said, "Our long-drawn defence capital acquisition processes can hinder the procurement of cutting-edge technology."

Emphasising the need for reforms in DAP 2020 to ensure a regular and sustained capability-building process, the general added, "With new and disruptive technologies emerging at an increasingly rapid pace, the challenge of avoiding technological obsolescence has become more pressing."

For example, the lengthy acquisition process, coupled with delays in indigenous programmes, has reduced the IAF's active squadrons to 31, well below the authorised 42, with an ageing fleet and delayed inductions further exacerbating the issue.

Of the Rs 6.81 trillion MoD budgetary allocation for 2025-2026, Rs 1.8 trillion, or 26.43 per cent, will be spent on capital outlay on defence services.

Of this, Rs 1.49 trillion is allocated for capital acquisition, referred to as the modernisation budget of the armed forces.

The capital outlay on defence services has seen a modest 4.65 per cent increase over the 2024-2025 Budget Estimate of Rs 1.72 trillion.

The FY25 Revised Estimate under this head was also lowered to Rs 1.60 trillion, with the 2025-2026 allocation being 12.85 per cent higher.

Defence industry insiders believe that reforms in defence acquisition, particularly in expediting the process, are essential for the efficient utilisation of capital outlay allocations.

Feature Presentation: Aslam Hunani/Rediff.com